County profile
Wilkes County, NC
United States · GDP 2024
#929 of 3,127 US counties by GDP62nd-percentile growthmore diversified than 52% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$3.2B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+5.4%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
19,772
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
1,157
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$45.6k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
66,233
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
3.7%
Median HH income
$51.7k±$2.5k
Bachelor's degree+
16.9%±1.8%
Poverty rate
16.7%±2.0%
Business applications
575 · 2025
Retail establishments
220
33.2/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
No public companies loaded for this state yet — universe expands with the full ingest.
HQ-based placement with total (global) headcount — local employment attribution needs firmographic data; the industry mix at right is measured county data (CBP).
Industry mix · employment
Manufacturing32%
Retail trade17%
Health care17%
Management17%
Food & accommodation12%
Construction4%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
66,233
residents · 2025 · +0.5% since 2020
Income per capita $52.9k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration+1,481
International migration+487
Natural change−1,628
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$2.5B2019
$2.5B2020
$2.8B2021
$3.1B2022
$3.1B2023
$3.2B2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$168.8k±$8.9k
Median gross rent
$723/mo±$37/mo
Vacancy rate
14.9%±1.8%
Affordability
3.7× wages
Residential permits
$52.1M
152 units · 2.3/1k pop
FEMA risk score
82.6
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$925/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Ice storm 93Strong wind 78Landslide 76
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 2016–2025
1962016
2032017
2122018
2232019
2302020
2562021
3042022
3242023
3662024
3812025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↓ -10% since 20211692021
1352022
1412023
1342024
1522025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
31.0 km
I-77
Nearest freight rail
5.1 km
YVRR
Nearest port
214.7 km
ELKHEM METALS CO., ALLOY DOCK
Nearest commercial airport
55.7 km
HICKORY RGNL
Wage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$45.6k
avg. annual pay · +20% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPNearby & same-state counties
by GDP rankThe read
What is the GDP of Wilkes?
Wilkes's economy produced $3.2B in 2024, growing 5.4% year over year — faster than most US counties. Its largest employment sector is manufacturing.
GDP: BEA (2024), USD-normalized · Jobs/employers/wages & industry mix: Census CBP (2023) · Population & migration: Census PEP · Income: BEA CAINC1 · Companies: SEC EDGAR + FMP, by HQ.